Cadillac was founded in 1902 by Henry Martyn Leland from the remains of Henry Ford’s car company. After financial disputes with its bankers, Ford left taking its name, and Leland stepped in, persuading the bankers to carry on with the carmaker. A new name was needed, and inspired in the French explorer that discovered Detroit in the beginning of the 17th century, Leland chose the explorer’s name to baptize the company: Cadillac.